The holiday season is upon us. It’s a time meant for joyful festivities, but, for those of us in chronic pain, planning and participating in gatherings with coworkers, friends, and family can pose significant challenges and stresses.

The demands on our energy, time, and patience are most likely going to become much higher than normal, and we’ll need to make wise choices about what we can and can’t do.

How do we find ways to participate enjoyably and not send our pain levels skyrocketing?

You Don't Have To Do It All

Learn to say no. Nicely, kindly, but firmly.

You don't have to be the person you were before you were struggling with pain, and you shouldn't try to be.

Yes, people have expectations of you and they forget that you're in pain. It's no fun, but you're going to have to gently remind others that you can't be everywhere and do everything they expect of you this holiday season.

Tell them that it's hard on you too, to not be able to be as involved as you have been in the past, but that it is very necessary for your healing. Let them know that the best way they can support your healing is to allow you to make the choices you need to make - the choices that may keep you home a little more and out a little (or a lot) less often.

Give yourself permission to ask others to do more than usual so you can attend gatherings without wearing yourself out, and give yourself permission to stay home if you need to.

Give Yourself A Free Pass

Give yourself a free pass to say yes or no at the last minute and decide you’re going to be okay with that. That means that you're going to reply with a firm "Maybe" when you're invited anywhere. It means that you can leave the decision about whether you're up for something or not right up to the moment you're heading out the door. And it means preparing others to accept that.

Tell friends and family that you may need to cancel your attendance at any event at the last minute, or that you may need to leave early, and ask for their understanding ahead of time. Let them know that you really want to be able to be with them, and your absence has nothing to do with how much you care about them. It has everything to do with taking care of yourself.

Then do what you need to do in that regard, and do it without guilt. Your priority is to find a way to take care of your needs for rest and low stress, even in the midst of this demanding season.

Don't Cut Yourself Off

With that said, don't completely cut yourself off from friends and family either. Being with loved ones for special occasions can be one of the most joyful aspects of being alive, so you don't want to miss out entirely if you can help it.

So, here's my formula: Choose a small number, say 3 to 5, celebrations for the whole holiday season that you feel are the most important to you personally. I don't mean the ones you used to think were important based on obligations to work and family and friends. I mean the ones you truly enjoy, the ones that feed your spirit, the ones you would really miss if you couldn't go.

If at all possible, find a way to get to those and only those. Go for only a brief period, if need be. Attend without contributing to food or preparations. Again, give yourself a guilt-free pass.

Let yourself have the times that are important to YOU, and say no to the rest.

This may sound selfish, but if you're in pain, you need to be a little more selfish for now. It isn't doing anyone any good for you to wear yourself out trying to do everything you used to do and go everywhere you used to go if you will be raising your pain levels, and not enjoying yourself.

So, instead of being exhausted and grumpy at too many functions, pick a few choice ones you can attend with enjoyment. Above all, be kind to yourself and take care of yourself first.

Find An Ally

Recruit a holiday ally - a friend or family member who understands your situation and will do the explaining for you, drive you over to functions, pick up the slack in terms of bringing food or making arrangements, and agree to leave early with you, when it's necessary.

You might find someone for the whole season, but you might also want to ask a different person for each function. Remind yourself: You need more help. You need to do less.

So, don’t hide away this holiday season if you can help it, but also, give yourself a break by giving yourself the gift of attending fewer functions, saying yes only to the ones you will really enjoy, finding an ally or two who will support you in the ways you need, and giving yourself a free pass to say no when you need to so you can fully enjoy the celebrations you do attend.

One of the most challenging things for some of us about being injured and in pain is the powerlessness we feel because we are unable to heal our bodies and unable to stop the constant pain.

We may feel victimized by our conditions, pharmaceuticals, invasive procedures, the impersonality of most institutions, or our own bodies. We may feel we are at the mercy of an interlocking system of agencies and organizations, one or all of which may not present a caring or compassionate face.

Medical and insurance forms, appointments, tests, procedures, and legal hearings don’t take into account that we are not at our best mentally and emotionally, that we are in terrible pain, or that we have very little stamina, yet we may feel blamed if we are not on top of the situation or able to answer questions clearly and accurately.

Sometimes, being ill or injured feels like it has become a crime committed by us.

Taking Responsibility

To leave the world of powerlessness behind, I decided that, regardless of the circumstances of my injury, I was responsible for my situation from that point forward.

Believing that others are responsible (or guilty), places them in the position of power and you become the victim. I declared myself at the center of my own emotional and physical well-being and recovery. I decided not to accept an outside source as the final authority, no matter how credible. I knew that I was the one who would ultimately heal myself anyway, regardless of the method used.

That decision alone, while not bringing with it an instantaneous and miraculous cure, at least afforded a measure of relief and a feeling of having more access to different choices rather than living entirely at the mercy of outside authorities and systems.

Noticing What We Can Control

In an effort to feel less at the mercy of outside forces and more in control of my life, I started noticing what aspects of my life were still under my control.

I noticed the decisions I was already making and congratulated myself for them. I also looked at the ones I could take back that I had handed over to others because I didn’t know I could make them for myself, or I hadn’t felt I had the knowledge or strength to make them.

Instead of following along with everything suggested by medical practitioners without question, I took more authority back for myself and became part of the decisions about medications and treatments.

Choosing Our Own Healing Path

I decided that I was in charge of my own healing path. I became as knowledgeable as I could about my condition and what modalities were available that I might be able to avail myself of, so I could make informed decisions about treatment.

I researched alternative therapies, natural healing, recent research and the latest medical breakthroughs. I read blogs and stories about how other people were coping with my condition, and how some had made improvements or found ways to cure themselves.

I looked into what I could can do for yourself: how improving my diet could help healing, how I could think more positively, what herbs and supplements might be beneficial, how I could reduce the amount of stress I was under, and how I could possibly get more restful sleep.

Some of these things made only small changes in the amount of pain I was in, but it doing them gave me a greater sense of direction in terms of finding ways to live with and ease pain. It felt empowering to make my own choices instead of putting my condition and my pain at the helm all the time.

Living with constant pain can make you feel powerless and it’s easy to feel that you have lost control over your own destiny, but thinking of yourself as a victim of pain or a victim of circumstances does very little to help you move toward whatever healing is possible for you.

Deciding to take control of whatever is in your power to make choices about, taking responsibility for your own healing path, and making conscious choices toward increased well-being on a daily basis can help relieve feelings of victimization and powerlessness and allows us to be more fully available to whatever new information and new possibilities may come our way.

This article appears in Pain News Network as Overcoming the Powerlessness and Victimization of Chronic Pain

Image: Hope In A Prison of Despair, Evelyn de Morgan, 1887 (Wikimedia Commons)

Disclaimer

Nothing on this website constitutes medical advice and is not intended to be a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. The reader should consult a physician in matters relating to his or her health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.